Ex-captain Lahm: DFB team “is not so intoxicating”

Frankfurt / Main (AP) – For the former world champion captain Philipp Lahm, the perception of the German national soccer team with the defeats against Spain (0: 6) and North Macedonia (1: 2) clearly suffered.

“Currently, the German team is in the way the latest results were, so not as exciting,” said the 37-year-old Lahm in the EM special issue of the “Kicker”. About the preliminary round opponents and world champions France, however, Lahm said: “You have a top squad with experienced plus young, dynamic players. They are doubly well filled in every position. “

Lahm, who resigned after winning the DFB World Cup in 2014, has no enthusiasm for the national team of national coach Joachim Löw. “It was lost,” Lahm stated. The ex-professional is confident that the announced departure from head coach Löw will inspire the team at the pan-European tournament. “It can release energy.” Many of the players would have worked with Löw for years. “I’m sure you want to give him a good degree,” said Lahm.

Meanwhile, Lahm and his organizational team see themselves under a lot of pressure in the direction of the home EM 2024. “Optimal organization is expected from us Germans anyway, so we have to do the relevant preparatory work and deliver perfection at the tournament,” he said. Lahm, who this time as an active player will take on the role of leading functionary 18 years after the home World Cup, would like football to bring society together again.

However, Lahm does not find comparisons with 2006 useful. “The atmosphere at the time, favored by the beautiful weather, cannot be copied,” said Lahm. In the summer of 2024, the EM tournament with 24 participating nations is to take place in the ten German cities of Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Düsseldorf, Leipzig and Stuttgart.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210520-99-674922 / 2

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